The Diary of an Unmade Man Ep 35
Episode 35 – Reflection by the sea
Currently, I'm sat in a little seaside cafe, drinking tea and having a greasy breakfast – it’s certainly up there with one of the worst cooked breakfasts I’ve had but that’s a rant for twitter!
Looking out over a miserable day, the water is lapping up against the pier I can see. It truly is a grizzly day out. The cyclists are coming in sopping wet and I am sure they must question why they ever bothered.
I'm just sat here minding my own business, watching the world go by. It’s not often I sit and stop. Normally I’ve got a list of jobs I’ve want to get done, but today is different.
Today I’m off to see my Grandad. He’s 93 this year. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a clue. He’s had Dementia for about 10 years. It’s sad to see in someone who was so active for much of his life. His body is still working well, but his mind has gone.
He will have no clue who I am when I see him, but it’s important I do. He is one of my inspirations. We lost my Nan earlier on in the year so it’s important for us to make the journey to spend what little time we get with him. One day, if I make it that far, I hope my grandchildren treat me so fondly.
Christmas has just been and I'm having a bit of a reflective period. I'm looking back over the last 8 months of crypto and what I've achieved this year.
Forgetting price for 5 minutes and forgetting investments, what can I say other than it’s been awesome.
I now know about Blockchain.
About how to set up 2 Factor Authentication - and how important it is!
I also know what a Hardware Wallet is – and own one!
And that's barely scratching the surface.
I’ve joined a community of entrepreneurs, forward thinkers and damn right cool people.Before this year I never thought I would have friends in all corners of the world. That I would be able to drop someone a message and receive help from thousands of miles away!
I do feel as though I need to learn to converse more with the ‘outside world’. I need to do my bit to start introducing people to crypto.
Over Christmas whilst chatting with a no-coiner friend, he asked me which 'Bitcoins' I had invested in. I chuckled to myself. A little wry smile found its way to my lips and I smugly answered;
"There's only one Bitcoin mate. We call all the other cryptos alt-coins. There is also Ethereum and Litecoin but that's another discussion for another day."
Notice how I used the word 'we'. How snobby of me. Including myself in an exclusive club of digital investors. An underground community protective of what it has built. But I'm still on the bottom rung. And I definitely shouldn't treat someone with contempt or patronise them for not knowing about the cryptosphere. I know this is a flaw I must get better at!
But, I did feel proud. I felt really smug. I couldn't help it. My dear friend is the one that should know what Bitcoin is. He's an 'office' guy, surrounded by tech departments, software engineers and all types of IT experts. He builds data centres for a living. And gets paid handsomely for the privilege. So it felt good I knew what I was talking about, and how in time to come I will teach him the inner workings of a cryptographic transaction.
This year I have taught myself how to transact digitally without the aid of a banking system. It may be scary at first, and I hold testament to that, but it's liberating. It's empowering. However, as an industry there is still a long way to go.
Having built a small community base of awesome people around me, I finally managed to tick off another first. Meeting up with a fellow cryptonian. My first real life beer with an 'Internet friend'.
Being able to chat about Bitcoin over a cheeky IPA really does sound hipster doesn’t it!
As cliche as this sounds, I believe things happen for a reason. You create your own luck. And getting the opportunity to spend a few hours with someone who is like-minded and incredibly passionate about the space is priceless. What was supposed to be a quick drink after lunch, turned out to be a fantastic afternoon.
Sharing thoughts, ideas and enthusiasm with others is how you create the energy to push yourself. It has given me more self-belief in my writing. It has also given me more confidence to develop my skill-set and expand my horizons.
A few times I have spoken with Matthew Aaron, host of CRYPTO 101, and told him he has inspired me. This is true. And he's quickly being joined my others. Aaron Paul's hustle on and off ICO101 pushes me to be more direct, ask the questions that matter and look into other avenues to expand my business portfolio.
And after my ‘quick drink’ with Red Quokka CEO, Carl Gunaratnam (@ericcointona) - who as a guest with Matthew Aaron explained how he has started a new life and career in the crypto industry – I’ve been inspired me to do more. I will be looking at other avenues of expanding my blog to more audiences as well as doing other writing outside of crypto.
Maybe one day I’ll be a New York Times Bestselling author?!
Now it’s time to enter the New Year (on the Gregorian calendar at least).
2019 is the start of something new and the start of my new goals. Over the next week I shall be putting together a list of things I would like to achieve. Crypto and non-crypto related.
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I will share which goals I have come up with in my next blog, but until then if you have any ideas then please let me know – [email protected]
If you are looking to start you new year by learning about crypto then look no further!The new CRYPTO101 book is now available and perfect for the green-faced cryptonian!You can purchase a copy right here -–> JOHNNYS GUIDE TO CRYPTOCURRENCY
If you want to learn more or get involved in one of the best and largest growing communities then stick around. CRYPTO101 is always expanding. Always looking to get people from everywhere involved. And the first place to do that is the Facebook page. Give it a try today, you never know how it might help!
I myself, have received a lot of love and support from the awesome community there. You can find a lot of content on the CRYPTO 101 Steemit blog page as well.
Articles are being put there all the time!If you're on twitter, give me a shout @DaveDustpan. I tweet a lot of light-heartened rubbish, but I do share some knowledge and journey updates from time to time.
Finally, if you've got the time, please take a quick trip to Patreon, please have it in your heart to become a Rarris on Mars member and help keep the community going! I myself am a Patreon. I do this because my mistakes would have been a hell of a lot worse had CRYPTO 101 not been there for me. Not only will you get exclusive content from Matthew Aaron and the team but hopefully it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Thanks for reading folks and stay safe out there,
Dave x
E - [email protected]
T - @DaveDustpan
About the Author: Dave is a noob to the world of crypto detailing his ups and downs in his journey to blog-writing crypto superstardom. Dave lives in the UK with his partner Mrs D. Outside of crypto he runs two family businesses. This takes up a great deal of time, although crypto is fast becoming his newest passion. He has an enthusiasm to learn about an industry which he has no clue about. As an amateur keyboard stabber, he hopes to continue writing and one day become a published author.Thank you for reading.